8.01.2013

Review: The 30 Day Praise Challenge by Becky Harling

Title: The 30 Day Praise Challenge

Author: Becky Harling

Publication Date: August 1, 2013

Publisher: David C. Cook

Genre: Christian Non-Fiction

Pages: 202

Source: ARC from PublisherRating:

Synopsis (from Goodreads):Discover the Power of Praising God When Becky Harling was diagnosed with cancer over ten years ago, she begged God for healing. A friend of hers had another idea. She challenged Becky to spend twenty minutes a day in praise. Becky thought, What if I’m not feeling thankful?But as she intentionally praised God, she began to experience new joy—and her relationship with God has never been the same. Now, in The Thirty-Day Praise Challenge, Becky guides you in praising God for twenty minutes every day for one month. Arranged topically, the book includes music selections to enhance your praise journey and creative ideas for continuing the habit of praise. As Becky writes, “If you take this challenge, your faith will grow more than you dreamed possible. You will experience more joy, less insecurity, more courage, less anxiety. Thirty days of praising God. Are you ready?”

I'm pretty sure this is the first actual devotional I've reviewed on the blog, and I'm pretty excited about this one. Becky Harling brings us a beautifully organized compilation of reminders and words of encouragement in The 30 Day Praise Challenge. It does exactly that, it challenges us to have perspective and find the good in our every day situations. It also brings a sense of hope.

Each day is well organized beginning with a verse the leads into "The Invitation" for the day. The Invitation is exactly that, God inviting us to praise him for the day's concerns and to trust that it's in His hands. This is the main part of each day and it offers words of encouragement that soothe the mind and soul. Next, Harling notes songs for us to listen to that coincide with the theme for that day. As a worship leader, this was one of my favorite parts. For some of us, one of our best avenues for praise is music, and I thought it was really awesome that this was included in this book.

The third segment offers a prayer. This was great because if you're just finding your faith, you have kind of a guideline. Or, if you're just overwhelmed and are at a loss for words, Harling provides an option for you. The last part is an offer to journal. It usually implies questions that further your thought into that day's devotional. This is good because it really engages you and causes you to truly think about what it is you're reading. It's easy to read through a devotional and forget what it said by the time you walk out the door, but Harling has provided these resources to allow the praise to reach our hearts.

I've had quite a bit of fun going through this book. I work at a small Christian salon and every girl in there is going through something (as most of us are!). I brought this book in and began going through it with the girls at my salon, and it was so encouraging. We weren't able to do the listening or journaling part, but the gentle reminders were enough to give us some extra peace through the day.

I would say that you should keep a journal handy. It would be really nice if this was accompanied by a CD with all the songs on it so you don't have to go searching on YouTube. I think that's the only real complaint I have about this book. Other than that, it's been a great resource! I will definitely use it repeatedly.